Lebanon - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Lebanon

Lebanon

April 23, 2026

Beirut 1:49 am

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Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Jewel SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon-Israel negotiations to continue even as Iran talks stall

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also said that Lebanon will lead the negotiations and that no other party will take part, emphasizing that this track is separate from any other talks.

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

Who are Lebanon’s main players influencing talks with Israel?

Amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, focus is now on the main political players in Lebanon and their role in shaping or derailing any deal.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun delivers a speech during a meeting of Pope Leo XIV with authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on November 30, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images)

Aoun says Lebanon seeks 'permanent agreements' with Israel after White House invite

Aoun says Lebanon is entering a “new stage” of negotiations with Israel focused on “permanent agreements” following a US-brokered ceasefire and a White House invitation extended to both him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Netanyahu caved to Trump on Lebanon and what it means for Israel

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Jerusalem on February 26, 2026. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Iran says Strait of Hormuz 'completely open' to ships

MUSCAT, OMAN - MARCH 25: Locals take photos of two bulk carriers anchored at Muscat Anchorage on March 25, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which conveys about 20% of the world's oil and gas, has mostly come to a halt after the joint U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28. Iran, in a defiant reply to a ceasefire proposal from the United States, has claimed that sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz "is its natural and legal right." Under international law, t

Trump announces Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, will invite Aoun and Netanyahu to White House

Trump, Rubio speak to Lebanon's president amid push for Aoun-Netanyahu call

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) arrives to attend a cabinet session to discuss an army plan to disarm the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, on September 5, 2025. In August, under heavy US pressure and fearing Israel would intensify its strikes, Lebanon's government ordered the army to draw up a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

The northern collapsed section of the grain silos in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 23, 2022.

Explainer: Why Lebanon port blast families keep clashing with police

Families of the Beirut port explosion victims continue to protest, asking for justice.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's Riad Salameh probe tops visit of European investigators

A European delegation is conducting an investigation into Lebanon’s banking system and the port explosion in the hope of providing some answers.

Beirut international airport

Lebanon arrests seven suspects in killing of Irish UNIFIL soldier

Seven suspects have been arrested in relation to the killing of an Irish peacekeeper in south Lebanon and six more are being investigated.

Supporters of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah attend a televised speech by the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs on Jan. 3, 2023 marking the third anniversary of the US killing of top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Hezbollah's Nasrallah refutes health rumors, slams Ben-Gvir

Hassan Nasrallah praised internal efforts to choose a Lebanese president, but criticized attempts to link the issue to geopolitical developments.

The flags of (front to back) France and Lebanon fly near the damaged grain silos at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on July 14, 2021, almost a year after the August 4 massive explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured scores of others. (Photo by PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

French defense chief in Lebanon, pledges more support to military

Sebastien Lecornu's visit came two weeks following the killing of an Irish UNIFIL soldier as his convoy came under attack. A suspect is now in custody

Lebanon parliament

2022 in review: Lebanon in paralysis, fails ten times to elect President

Head of Lebanese Army General Joseph Aoun is emerging as potential presidential candidate in Lebanon after a year of political dysfunction, rising poverty and economic collapse in country

Sunset shot showing a row of electricity pylons in the desert, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Getty Images)

Analysis

2022 in review: Saudi-China, Qatar-Germany deals cap Middle East's energy developments

Hydrogen power, oil price fluctuations and electric vehicles could feature prominently in the region in 2023.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Bars toast holiday season in Lebanon

Lebanon's beleaguered food and beverage sector is hoping for relief from holiday travelers.

This picture taken on March 21, 2020, shows an aerial view of the Ashrafieh district of Lebanon's capital, Beirut.

As Lebanon unravels, Beirut neighborhood takes security into its own hands

Amid Beirut’s unlit streets, men wield torches and batons to ensure security and safety in the neighborhood in an initiative that began in Achrafieh, one of Beirut’s oldest and most charming districts.

Italian members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon gather in the village of Seddiqine, from near where four rockets were fired toward Israel, Tyre district, south Lebanon, May 19, 2021.

Irish UN peacekeeping soldier killed in south Lebanon

A UNIFIL convoy came under attack Dec. 14 resulting in the death of an Irish soldier and the injury of three others.

A man walks past the World Bank building in Washington on April 21, 2022.

World Bank says debt increasing in Middle East countries

Egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year.

Security forces stand guard during the lighting of the Christmas tree in Sassine Square in the Ashrafieh district of Lebanon's capital Beirut on December 7, 2022. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Morocco's win at World Cup reopens Lebanon's civil war wounds

Lebanon's former prime minister calls for calm amid sectarian clashes in Beirut following Morocco's win against Portugal.